(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to magnetic couplers that magnetically couple two adjacent model railroad cars positioned on a section of model railroad track, and an apparatus that selectively uncouples the two magnetically coupled model railroad cars.
(2) Description of the Related Art
In the hobby of model railroading there is a large group of enthusiasts that are interested in the collection, assembly and operation of smaller sized or smaller scaled model railroad layouts. Be it a desire for a model railroad layout that does not require a large expanse of space, or the challenge of assembling a realistic looking model railroad layout in a smaller scale or size, in recent years the trend in model railroading has been toward the increasing popularity of smaller and smaller scales or sizes. A first popular scale was the “O” scale, or 1:48 scale. Then came the “HO” scale, or the 1:87 scale. This was followed by the “N” scale or 1:160 scale, which was followed by the “Z” scale, or 1:220 scale.
Although the trend in model railroading has been toward the smaller and smaller scales, it has continued to be a desire of model railroaders to assemble and operate a lifelike looking model railroad. With increasingly smaller scales of model railroad cars and railroad tracks, the desire for realistic looking model railroad cars has led to some difficulties in the operating of the model railroad layouts. For example, as the scale or size of model railroad cars decreases, the size of the couplers that releasably connect adjacent model railroad cars on a section of model railroad track must also decrease to maintain a realistic appearance of the model railroad cars. The reliable operation of the couplers of model railroad cars has always been a problem in the operation of model railroad layouts, and as the scales have gotten smaller these problems have become more pronounced.
The problems encountered with the reliable operation of smaller model railroad cars exist because, as the scale of the model railroad cars gets smaller and smaller, the need for the precise construction and assembly of the coupler component parts increases proportionately. Furthermore, this is true not only in the construction of model railroad cars and their couplers, but is also true in the construction of the model railroad track and in the quality of the laying of the track in a model railroad layout. For mechanical couplers or nonmagnetic couplers of model railroad cars to work well, each individual coupler of the pair to be connected must be properly aligned, both vertically and horizontally, with every other pair of couplers in use. It can easily be seen that as the scale of the model railroad cars gets smaller and smaller, this becomes more and more difficult. Irregularities in model railroad track, the dimensional tolerances of the wheels, trucks, and couplers of the model railroad cars, and the thermal stability of the model railroad track all get more critical as the scale decreases. In addition, as the scale of the model railroad cars gets smaller, the forces needed to operate the mechanical couplers pose a greater risk of causing a derailment of the cars.
In efforts to reduce the problems encountered with the operation of model railroad car couplers, manufacturers of the mechanical types of couplers that employ two or more moving parts have, in some cases, increased the size of the magnetic coupler relative to the scale of the model railroad car. However, this has the disadvantage of giving up the realism of the appearance of the railroad car and its couplers. In addition, some mechanical couplers have been designed that can only couple and uncouple along straight lengths of track or along only slightly curved lengths of track, sacrificing the realism of the functioning of the mechanical couplers.
Another factor demonstrating the need for model railroad car couplers that function with increased reliability is the increase in computer controlled model railroad layouts. Computer controlled model railroad layouts tend to be more unattended by the individual(s) operating the layout. Therefore, computer controlled layouts require a very high degree of reliability in all aspects of the functioning of the model railroad car couplers.
The difficulties encountered in the functioning of mechanical model railroad car couplers for the smaller scale model railroad cars have been addressed by the design of model railroad car couplers that use cooperating magnetic fields to form the releasable connection between adjacent model railroad cars. Model railroad car couplers that use cooperating magnetic fields have been found to be far more reliable in coupling and uncoupling operations, but have not achieved popularity primarily because they have tended to be large in size relative to the scale of the model railroad cars, and are often complex in construction.
Another disadvantage associated with model railroad car magnetic couplers is that many require that the two adjacent model railroad cars coupled by the magnetic couplers be grasped manually and pulled apart from each other in order to uncouple the magnetic couplers. Alternatively, a wedging tool is sometimes used by inserting the tool between the adjacent coupled cars and manually applying sufficient force to physically wedge the model railroad cars apart, uncoupling the magnetic couplers. These procedures can result in causing damage to the constructions of the model railroad cars being uncoupled, or in unwanted derailments of one or both of the cars. These procedures also require direct intervention by the model railroad operator at each pair of railroad cars being uncoupled. The procedures are inconvenient in manually operated model railroad layouts, and are undesirable for computer controlled model railroad layouts.
What is needed to overcome the disadvantages associated with the couplers of smaller scale model railroad cars is an improved coupling and uncoupling system that is self-aligning, and can operate reliably when manually unattended to couple or uncouple adjacent model railroad cars without causing damage to the cars or derailments of the cars.